"To fight poverty, start with women"

[applegrove]

To fight poverty, start with women

By Maria Cardona, CNN Contributor

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/opinion/cardona-women-economy/index.html?sr=sharebar_twitter.

"SNIP............................................



The Shriver report also outlines a set of other public policy solutions, including raising the minimum wage for all and helping women access better paying jobs through job training. It describes how government support structures could allow for better and more affordable child care, enabling women to balance the roles of caregiver and breadwinner.

And in a surprising revelation, it uncovers the regret many of these low-income women express about marrying early -- and also, in many cases, their satisfaction at having gotten divorced. Republican lectures about marriage and family values will not work to solve poverty. But making education and child care accessible, closing the wage gap and leveling the playing field will.

Republicans should note that one of the studies in the Shriver report shows that women of color -- a key demographic with whom the party desperately needs to make inroads -- overwhelmingly believe government has a role to play in providing adaptive workplace structures and policies that support today's contemporary families. No, this is not a plea for a handout. These women, while in a more financially precarious position than their white counterparts, are also more optimistic about their futures. As in: I want to work hard and know there are better economic opportunities out there for me to succeed.

These policy solutions the report offers are not new; progressives have been fighting for them for a very long time. But it also outlines what we can do as individuals, communities and corporations. We can, for example, help young girls make smarter choices, promote a "college before kids" mentality, and help businesses identify best practice policies that can better support low-wage women workers.





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[mzteris]

1. As go the women

So go the children.

The neighborhood. The city. The state. The country.

The world.

When men took away women's power, they impaired he progress of us all.

[applegrove]

2. And the women's vote changed society for the better. Within 20 years there was the New Deal.

No wonder the GOP have to attack women. And call things "estrogen filled" or the "nanny state", "feminized atmosphere" etc.... They lost privilege & power when women vote and they've never gotten over it. Women naturally put family first.

[redqueen]

3. K&R nt

[El_Johns]

4. To fight poverty, start with jobs & wages.

http://www.iwpr.org/press-room/press-releases/gender-poverty-gap-grows-in-recovery/image


Poverty & money problems are the #1 reason for divorce, so perhaps had there been more & better economic options many of those young marrieds would still be married, eh? If the husbands made family-friendly wages as well as the wives?

We don't need more "experts" helping us make "better choices"; we don't need businesses to "identify best practices to support low-wage women workers," we need higher wages and more jobs & benefits -- for EVERYONE.